


The Taste of Beer and Old Movies Reminds Me of When I'm With You.

by Sageandshit



Series: For Kristitha Schmistitha [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Charlie Weasley - Freeform, Dragons, F/M, Throwback, romania - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 10:09:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21073166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sageandshit/pseuds/Sageandshit
Summary: It's like... you know how every good superhero needs their own origin story?  Well, like, this is that.  But for Hadley Wachter and Charlie MF Weasley.  And anyways- young hot Charlie, amiright amiright?





	The Taste of Beer and Old Movies Reminds Me of When I'm With You.

17-year-old Hadley Wachter felt too young to be shoved off into the world. Her muggle cousins had a whole extra year to figure out exactly how to- as an adult- mess up their life. A lifetime of college debt? Full time work? Take a year off and travel the world in order to get horrid white person dreads and post a ton of pictures in bali next to sad elephants? Maybe. Could you check all three boxes within the first two years out of Ilvermorny? Maybe.

The two people in Ilvermorny that were from the same area of the United States as her had, luckily, also been the three people she had been closest with. Morgan had gone the college route. Morgan wanted to work in nature conservation and, like most muggle-born children at the Wizarding Academy, she chose a career path that was predominantly muggle ran. She spent her summers taking science and math classes at the community college in between all three of their houses. She was focused from a young age. 

Ellie, on the other hand, was as lost as Hadley was but also not as concerned about it. 

“I’ll probably be, like, a homeless fifty-year-old or something.” She said as they lie on Hadley’s bed in her parent’s home the summer before their last year at Ilvermorny. “I’ll die alone and forgotten and that’s, honestly, like, alright.” She smiled. “Either that or I’ll just be a bartender until I’m 78 and can’t see the bottle labels anymore.” 

The three of them discussed their futures and made plans to stay in touch as Morgan applied for colleges, hoping that calling Ilvermorny a “private school” would suffice and Hadley applied to any internship program that would get her out of their midwestern town. 

“I mean, I do well in all of my classes and I have a good background in muggle knowledge so I feel like I have a good shot.” She shrugged. 

“You’re extracurriculars are the shit.” Ellie stated. “You’ve killed it at Quidditch since second year and you speak German almost, like, fluently.” 

“Overestimating, there.” Hadley laughed. “But thank you.” 

***

By the second term of their final year Hadley had been accepted to one internship program and two equivalents of Wizarding colleges. The office of Muggle-Magical Relations at the British Ministry of Magic (Eh, The British Ministry was known for overworking and undervaluing their muggle liaison officers.) The German Academy of Magical Magnitude (And be stuck with stuffy kids from all over the world who just enrolled in a four year program to extend their schooling for thousands upon thousands of german wizarding currencies when they could just learn the same shit for free off of the internet? No thanks. No more school.) and the International Magical Institute of Media in Manchester. Sure. 

She had always wanted to work in media- preferably visual media but at this point she was going to go where the wind took her. 

The next two years of her life consisted of a diet made predominantly of full english breakfasts and coffee that was subpar to her standards. But she was happy. 

She excelled in classes and made a small group of friends who kept her laughing until her sides hurt. She took improv classes at a small muggle improv center and forced her friends from class to come and cheer. 

Third year was when they sent the kids out to battle. Everyone had to choose a topic to spend an entire semester studying. 

“Dragons.” Hadley beamed at her classmates. 

“She’s going to come back barbecued.” Nia jabbed. 

“Bald.” Marcus chimed in. 

“Okay well you’ll be bald soon too, and dragons have nothing to do with it.” Hadley replied and watched Marcus feign a sword in the heart while everyone else laughed. 

“At least since you already crop it short we know you look good bald.” Nia shrugged. 

***

Hadley found herself at the front gates of Romanian Dragon Sanctuary with enough clothes for a semesters’ worth of Dragon chasing and a brand new pair of rubber mud boots as encouraged in the welcome pamphlet. 

She buzzed up to the headquarters (which she would shortly find out was a small cabin with a cozy fireplace but also endless clutter of Dragonolgists changes of clothes and stashes of snacks) and awaited a response in a cold drizzle that had claimed the day.

“Romanian Dragon Sanctuary; Our hours of operation are posted on the sign to your left and walking tours must be booked in advance, thank you.” 

“Wait! Hey, It;s Hadley. Hadley Wachter? I’m supposed to start today- I called ahead yesterday and the manager said today was fine to start.” 

“Oh! Hey, I’ll be right down.” The now warm and welcoming voice said through the box. She shifted from one foot to the other trying to figure out a posture that made her look entirely confident and not at all nervous when she heard the quick footsteps of someone jogging down the dirt-and-gravel path. 

“Heya, Hadley!” A tall, broad shouldered thick, muscular man grinned as he approached the gate, a huge ring of keys in hand and jingling. The closer he got she could make out a face full of freckles and a strong jaw. 

She should’ve been thinking about what to say when he opened the gate and led her to the headquarters. She should have been planning to list off all of the things about dragonology that she already knew and what she had hoped to learn. She should have been thinking about anything besides what was actually playing over and over and over in her inner monologue which was “Oh my god. He has one dimple.” 

He looked in his late twenties, early thirties and was probably ten times out of her league- probably married and probably very happy and not, whatsoever, looking to fully fucking tonsel hockey (like a goddamn teenager) with a 20 year old. That, however, did not stop Hadley from watching his arm muscles as he reached down to the gate and unlocked it, pushing it to the side and standing out of the way for her to enter. 

It also didn’t stop her from noticing that he smelled like cedar and firewood and just the faintest hint of sweat. 

“Hey.” Her delayed response brought a flush to her cheeks. “I’m Hadley.” ‘He literally said your name twice… he knows it.’ her brain told her mouth. 

“I know.” He smirked. “I’m Charlie.” He held a hand out to shake. “You’ll be shadowing me during your stay.” She shook his hand and felt herself wanting to burst out laughing with nerves. Every guy she had ever met- even if she found them attractive- gave her a friend vibe. 

This was a man. He definitely didn’t give off “hey good buddy” vibes. She felt her insides quaking. 

“So where are you staying for your duration?” He asked her casually as they walked in the dreary weather up the long dirt path. 

“The next town over.” She shrugged. “There wasn’t much info when I googled ‘fun Romanian towns for young people to live in’ so I just chose the closest one.” She watched his eyebrows furrow. 

“What’s google?” 

“Google.” She stated as if she had forgotten how English worked. 

“But. What is it?” 

“Like… google. The internet. The most popular search engine available to mankind?” She watched his puzzled look. “You… you like… don’t know the internet? Do you not have the internet here?” SHe asked him gravely. 

“I mean i know what the internet is we just don’t use it and my family never had it. And my school didn’t have it.” 

“Man.” She sighed out and looked up. “That sucks for you.” She watched him eye her curiously. “The internet is a wonderful blackhole of endless possibilities.” 

************

“Oh that’s gotta be Nikolai and Mascha.” Charlie yelled from Hadley’s newly thrifted couch. She heard him bolt up and rush to the door. 

“Wow, welcoming people into my own apartment.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Someone thinks their in the lease or something.” 

“You wish, Wachter.” He winked at her, sending flutters from her gut to her throat.

“Hey, newbie, we brought beer.” Nikolai’s thick Russian accent made jokes hard to read sometimes but his eyes were always smiling when he spoke to her and she knew he felt kindly towards her. 

“Hey, Nikolai. My fridge doesn’t have anymore beer room.” She stuck her tongue out at him. He pulled the door open, disbelieving and was surprised to find a shelf dedicated to lagers, IPAs and Ales. “I don’t fuck around about beer.” She stated. All three boys looked at each other quizzically.

“Damn.” Charlie broke the silence. “Wachter goes hard.” 

“Who wants a pretty okay gin and tonic that I just made?” She pushed forth a tray with six nicely garnished, also thrifted, rocks glasses. 

“Merlin.” Charlie started laughing. “I think we’ve underestimated her, guys.” 

“Hello?” A mousey female voice drifted into the room as Jules and Orlaith finally arrived. 

“Come in.” Hadley waved them over. “We haven’t even started yet and they’ve started in on me.”

“Ooh come on guys.” Orlaith’s thick irish accent was musical as she elbowed Mascha playfully and strung her arm around his neck. “Go easy on her.” 

“Nah.” Charlie smiled. “I feel like she's the one that can take it.” 

“Alright everyone grab a beverage of choice and sit around the coffee table.” Hadley called out. “We’re playing a wonderful drinking game called ‘Have you seen this youtube video or not?’” She grinned solely at Charlie whose face wassuddenly wiped of its grin. 

“Oy.” He said. “No- not fair.” 

“Oh I’ll be good at this one.” Orlaith laughed and poured herself a shot of whiskey straight away. “I had one friend in high school and spent most of my days in front of a screen. I’m so in.” 

“Guys-” Charlie tried objecting. 

“If Orlaith’s in, so am I” Mascha motioned fora shot as well. 

“Same.” Nikolai, always one for competition, added. 

“Sure.” Jules shrugged. 

“Outnumbered, Weasley.” Hadley said in a dangerous tone. 

“Why is it always my place?” Hadley feigned upset even though she loved that suddenly her apartment had become the gathering grounds. 

“Closest distance.” Charlie shrugged. “Should have chosen a farther- but cooler- township like the rest of us.” 

“‘Kay, Weasley.” Hadley rolled her eyes but smiled immediately after. “Just don’t make it an every week thing.”

***

“What are we watching tonight?” Orlaith asked before adding, in a sing song tone “Friday Night Movie Niiiiiiight.” and leaned against Hadley’s cubby as she put on her mud boots in preparation for laying fresh hay in the dragon dens in between running from site to site in a thunderstorm. 

“IT.” She tugged her second boot up with a grunt. 

“It?” Charlie leaned forward to look at Hadley quizzically. 

“IT.” SHe replied, exasperated. 

“What’s that?” 

“Like… Stephen King?” 

“Who?” 

“Oh my god Charles.” She said. “Where did you grow up? Mars?” 

“I don’t know any muggles!” He held his hands up in defeat. “What am I supposed to do?!” 

“I know Stephen King.” Orlaith teased. “I’m pureblood.” 

“We didn’t have the internet.” Charlie rolled his eyes and stormed out, leaving Hadley watching the door swing. 

“I don’t even like horror movies.” She laughed and turned to Orlaith. “Now I’m going to have to chase him down. He didn’t even tell me which dragon was taking up the afternoon.” She rolled her eyes and waved to Orlaith who was making a sympathetic expression while stuffing two power bars in her pockets.

*******

“What do you think about Charlie?” Orlaith asked Hadley quietly on their lunch break. They sat alone in the little cabin, eating peanut butter and jelly. 

“He’s fine.” Hadley shrugged. “He can be funny… when he doesn’t try for it.” 

“No… I mean, what do you think about him?” Orlaith wiggled her eyebrows. Hadley felt herself warm even though she hadn’t said anything yet. She wasn’t going to divulge anyone in this tight knit group about the fact that Charlie’s sweaty back has played through her mind on one too many lonely week nights. 

“I thought you were into Mascha.” Hadley tried to change the subject subtly. 

“Yea, he’s nice. He’s a great kisser.” She said with a mouthful of sandwich. “But what about Charlie.” She remained stubborn. 

“I wouldn’t like… throw up if he touched me.” She felt herself trying to find anything else to talk about. 

“Wow. What a true romantic.” 

“What?” She laughed and threw a piece of crush at one of her favorite people in this place. “Now quit changing the subject and tell me exactly how you’re going to steal Mascha’s seed.” 

****

“Friday night movie niiiiight.” Hadley heard the familiar gravely voice singing from the other side of the apartment door. 

“Always the first to arrive.” Hadley smirked as she opened the door. 

“I’m just an eager student of pop culture.” He shrugged. 

“Alright, Weasley. Don’t brown nose.” 

“God I hate that saying.” He shuddered. 

“When are Mascha and Nikolai coming?” Hadley passed him his favorite beer, cracking it open from habit. 

“They’re not.” He said, taking a sip. 

“Oh what’s up? Is something going on downtown?” She asked him, leaning back against the cupboards. 

“Nah.” He leaned opposite of her on the island, taking to gulps of beer. 

“They just didn’t want to come? Jules and Orlaith bailed too. We could have done something different if they were bored.” Hadley’s brow furrowed. 

Charlie shrugged. “I told them not to come.”

Hadley’s face contorted in confusion. “Rude. Why?” 

“I dunno’.” He stepped off of the island and towards her. “I didn’t want them around. I just wanted to hang out with you.” 

Hadley choked on her mouthful of beer and started laughing nervously. 

“Are you trying to flirt with me?” She laughed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. 

“No.” He stepped closer, encroaching on her space. She felt her heartbeat quicken. “Why would I flirt with you? Gross.” He raised an eyebrow

“Hey. That’s just rude.” She hit his arm lightly. 

“Whoops.” A half smile played upon his face before he closed the distance between them and bent down to meet her face. “Can I buy you a drink? At a bar?” 

“Are you asking me out?” She wasn’t laughing anymore- she wasn’t sure if she was even smiling. She felt her pulse in her knees, her stomach somewhere in between. He moved his head to the side of her face and made as if he were going to kiss her neck. She instinctively lifted her jaw to the side and when Charlie chuckled she felt his breath down her neck. 

“Yes.”


End file.
